this post was submitted on 02 Sep 2023
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Thank. You.
It's really irritating to see such language anywhere, but especially in ostensibly progressive spaces. I'm trying to change my language (never used the r-slur, but I've used "crazy" so much that ... I try not to, really). And I see male-centric language all over the place. It's unfortunately ubiquitous where I live.
The one that never sits right with me where I live is "guys." The counter-argument is that it is no longer gendered, but after educating myself more on the nature of casual sexism, I think it's actually an example of how male is perceived as the default, the norm. I don't think anyone is deliberately trying to be sexist by using it, but claiming that "guys" is gender neutral really seems to be a male-centric perspective.
I used to have an account on raddle, and I also learned a lot from them about why ableist language is harmful. I'm working on it, but it's almost like I need a buddy to help call me out when I lapse and say something like "idiot" or "crazy." And the frustrating thing is, as someone with mental illness, I feel like I should know better.
The one positive thing I took away from living in the south was the gender-neutral "y'all."
For those who don't know, "y'all" refers to a small group of people and "all y'all" refers to a larger group of people.
I like to play with words and create colourful, cutesy terms. Probably my favourite for this purpose is "critter" :3 Everycritter, anycritter, you critters, those critters. ... Of course if that stops being weird I'll have to come up with a new one. Hmm. I suppose I must mandate that only the cutest critters use this particular term >:P
Also, it's nice to see I'm not totally alone in caring about these things. Though some common themes around here (such as the problematic careless word choice issues referenced above) are quite upsetting I at least manage to say some things like this that typically get me attacked. ... Though maybe it's just because I only say them three-plus layers down a comment tree nocritter's gonna see. 🤷♀